CompTIA Security+ Practice Test (SY0-701)

The correct answer is 'High impact' because the exploitation of a vulnerability concerning financial data can lead to substantial monetary loss, reputational damage, and legal consequences. It is considered a high-impact risk due to the sensitive nature of the data involved and the potential for significant detriment to the organization. 'Low impact' is incorrect because financial data is critical and the consequences of its unauthorized access are severe. 'Acceptable impact' is not a standard term used in risk analysis, and 'Insignificant impact' is incorrect as it underestimates the seriousness of risks to financial data which would almost never be classified as insignificant.

A wildcard certificate allows an organization to secure a domain and all of its subdomains with a single certificate. This is achieved by using an asterisk (*) in the domain name portion of the certificate, representing all possible subdomains. Self-signed certificates are generated by the owner and are not trusted by default by browsers and operating systems. Extended Validation (EV) certificates provide higher levels of trust through a rigorous authentication process but do not inherently support multiple subdomains. Root certificates are used to sign other certificates in a certificate hierarchy but are not used to secure specific domains or subdomains.

This scenario describes a phishing attack, which is a form of social engineering where attackers masquerade as a trustworthy entity in an email to distribute malicious links or gather sensitive information like login credentials. The described situation fits the classic pattern of a phishing attempt through email, exploiting the credibility of 'system maintenance' to deceive employees into providing their information. It is not a vishing attack because that involves using phone calls to obtain confidential information. Smishing attacks involve the use of SMS texts, not emails. While typosquatting could be used in conjunction with phishing, it specifically involves registering domains that are slight misspellings of legitimate company domains and there is no mention of this detail in the scenario.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure tunnel between the remote user's device and the corporate network, encrypting data in transit, which helps protect sensitive corporate data from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. Remote access and tunneling protocols can be part of a VPN solution, emphasizing the importance of encryption and a secure tunnel. A jump server, even though it acts as a bridge between different security zones, does not inherently encrypt traffic and is less suited as a comprehensive solution for remote employees' secure connectivity.

The correct action is to perform a follow-up vulnerability scan. Rescanning is an essential step to verify that the applied patches have successfully remediated the identified vulnerabilities and to ensure that no new vulnerabilities were introduced in the process. Reviewing event logs, rebooting the server, and documenting the changes are all plausible activities, but they do not directly validate that the security flaw has been eliminated. Documentation is a procedural step, and rebooting is part of the patching process itself, not the validation phase.

The correct answer is that the employee has privileged access and detailed knowledge of the organization's systems and potential vulnerabilities. An insider threat, such as a disgruntled employee, is particularly dangerous because they operate from a position of trust and have authorized access to critical systems and data. Their familiarity with internal security measures, network architecture, and potential weaknesses allows them to bypass defenses that are typically designed to stop external attackers. While they might use social engineering or install unauthorized software, their direct, privileged access is the most significant and immediate threat. A motivation of revenge specifically increases the likelihood that they will leverage this knowledge and access to cause direct harm, such as sabotage or data destruction.

Automation significantly enhances efficiency and time-saving in security operations by speeding up routine tasks, reducing the likelihood of human error, and ensuring consistent application of security policies. It allows for rapid scaling of security measures in response to emerging threats and reduces the manual workload on security personnel. The incorrect answers focus on aspects that are not direct benefits of automation, such as simplifying user training or eliminating the need for security policies, which automation does not inherently do.

Reviewing third-party audit reports of the vendors provides an in-depth analysis of their security controls and compliance with industry standards. It is a crucial aspect of due diligence that helps in understanding the vendor's capabilities and in making an informed decision. The incorrect options, while possibly part of other processes, do not directly relate to the assessment of the risk and controls of the vendor as part of due diligence. For example, agreeing on the prices does not assess risk or security capabilities, and reviewing the company's own internal policies will not provide information on the vendor's practices.

The first and most effective action is to check for and apply security patches released by the hardware vendor. This action directly addresses the specific vulnerability in your supply chain by ensuring that the hardware is updated with the latest protection measures provided by the vendor. While alternatives like switching suppliers, performing an internal risk assessment, or conducting staff training may contribute to an overall improvement in security posture, they do not immediately address the identified vulnerability at hand.

The main advantage of automation and orchestration is the ability to enforce security baselines across the organization in an efficient manner. Automation allows for the rapid deployment of consistent configurations, policies, and security controls, ensuring all systems and devices adhere to the organization's security standards. This process is not only efficient but also reduces human error that may occur with manual configuration. It is thus a significant benefit for any medium-sized institution like the one described.

Steganography is the correct answer because it is a security technique used to hide information within another file, message, image, or video. It is a form of obfuscation that protects the confidentiality of data by making it undetectable to unintended recipients or observers. Unlike encryption, steganography does not make the data unreadable, but rather hides the fact that there is any data to be protected at all. Tokenization and data masking, on the other hand, are used to protect data by replacing sensitive elements with non-sensitive equivalents and are not about hiding data within other data.

The correct answer is Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) because it is a protocol specifically designed to allow two parties to establish a shared secret over an unsecured communication channel. Unlike RSA, which is an asymmetric encryption algorithm not primarily used for key exchange, and HMAC, which stands for Hash-Based Message Authentication Code and is used for ensuring the integrity of the message, ECDH provides a secure method for key exchange that leverages the properties of elliptic curves to enhance security and efficiency.

The Information Security Policies document should guide the decision-making process as it outlines the organization's overarching rules, expectations, and practices related to maintaining information security. It provides a framework for ensuring that changes comply with the standards necessary to protect the company's information assets. The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) mainly concerns how individuals are permitted to use company resources. The Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) policy is generally specific to the creation of software rather than change management. Meanwhile, the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is designed to guide operations post-disruption and is not primarily used for decision-making in change management.

The assertion is incorrect because SSL/TLS encryption is designed to protect the confidentiality of data transmitted over the network. Without the corresponding encryption keys, it is computationally infeasible to decrypt the captured packets and reconstruct any documents transferred during the session. Packet captures indeed preserve the data packets as they are transmitted, but encrypted sessions prevent access to the actual payload content without proper decryption measures.

Complexity in security operations pertains to the intricacy of systems, processes, and technologies that could potentially increase their vulnerability to attacks. More complex systems are harder to manage and secure, because the likelihood of misconfiguration and undiscovered vulnerabilities increases. Simplifying systems can lead to more robust and easier to manage security postures.